Although most of the salt we eat is hidden in the processed foods we buy, there is still a number of things you can do to help reduce your salt intake when cooking or eating at home.

Top Tips 

1. Cook from scratch using unprocessed meat, fish and vegetables
2. Use fresh, tinned or frozen vegetables with no added salt
3. Avoid adding salt during cooking or at the table, try adding other flavours such as pepper, garlic and lemon instead
4. Cut back on sauces such as soy sauce, ketchup, brown sauce and salad dressings as these can be high in salt
5. Choose lower salt-stocks, use half a stock cube, or make your own low-salt stock
6. Remember sea salt and rock salt have the same effect on the body as normal table and cooking salt
7. Try reducing the amount of salt you add gradually over a couple of weeks, allowing your taste buds time to adjust
8. If you can’t get used to less salt, try using low sodium alternatives such as LoSalt

Shopping

1.  Know which foods are high in salt and try to swap these for healthier alternatives. See our shopping guide: PDF Leaflet - Shopping Guide [PDF 606KB]: 
    High salt foods include:
   - processed meat and fish e.g. ham, bacon, salami, sausages, pate, smoked fish
   - convenience foods e.g. pizza, pasties, ready meals, canned/packet soups
   - salty snacks e.g. crisps, salted nuts, burgers, chips, salted popcorn
2. Always remember to check the labels and choose lower salt options
3. Swap from branded products to retailers’ own brands, as they tend to be lower in salt
4. Look for lower salt and ‘no added salt’ versions of your usual foods in the supermarket e.g. canned vegetables, tinned fish in spring water, ketchup and baked beans